


Chamomiles and Cupids

by leftennant



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, ScarletAmerica - Fandom, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Wintershock - Fandom
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Valentine's Day Fluff, WinterShock - Freeform, fydl Galentine's Day Exchange, fydlexchange, scarletamerica - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 03:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5990428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leftennant/pseuds/leftennant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Wanda have an obvious thing for each other, but sometimes it takes a little push to get the ball rolling.  (And some serious conspiring by Bucky and Darcy.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chamomiles and Cupids

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThePurpleAvenger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePurpleAvenger/gifts).



> So, this is my ScarletAmerica fic for the FYDL Galentine's Day exchange. It's for [an-enigmatic-avenger](http://an-enigmatic-avenger.tumblr.com/) on tumblr. This is my first time EVER writing anything for this ship, and I'm a leetle nervous about it, but it was crazy fun to get outside my comfort zone and try something new. Not to mention, I'm now lowkey sort of shipping this, so yeah. There's that. (welcome to the Lefty shipping armada) Anyway, I hope I did the ship justice. An-enigmatic-avenger will just have to let me know. ;D
> 
> ********************************************************

“He’s doing it again,” Darcy said softly.

Bucky, who was sitting next to her on the common room couch, muttered, “Staring, or staring and doodling her face on a napkin?”

“The second,” she replied. “Why doesn’t he just go talk to her?”

“Because he likes her. He was always shit at talking to women he liked, until Peggy...and look how that turned out.”

“It’s a valid reason. Heartbreak like that is hard to get past.”

“I know.” Bucky glanced casually over his shoulder at Steve. His friend was fixated on the unaware Wanda, who was standing across the room looking out the window. “I also know Steve. He’s not gonna get anywhere with her unless she approaches him first, or someone gives it a little push.”

“What kind of a push?”

“The kind that he can’t get out of easy.”

“Hmmm. I see.” Darcy nodded, a mischievous smile turning up one corner of her mouth. Bucky knew that smile well. It always meant trouble. Usually the best kind of trouble, too. “So...do you have any candidates for this whole ‘giving it a little push’ idea in mind?”

“Well, there’s this one guy,” he said to her. “You might know him. Grumpy. Metal arm. Used to take care of this skinny, blonde jackass back in the day.”

“Huh. And is this guy planning on working alone...or…?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“He’s open to partners in crime at the moment,” Bucky replied. “Why? You interested in the position?”

“I could be persuaded,” Darcy said to him. “Especially if there was a decent incentive on the table for me, but I can’t imagine what that could be.” She picked an imaginary bit of fluff off the arm of the couch, and flicked it away.

Yeah. That was definitely the smile that meant she was up to the best kind of trouble. Bucky fucking lived for that smile lately. It didn’t hurt that he usually saw it in his bedroom, or when she was propped up on the kitchen counter...or last week when Darcy had surprised him the showers after a workout wearing nothing _but_ that dangerous little grin.

He turned his attention back to Steve just in time to see the poor guy get caught staring by Wanda. His friend quickly dropped his eyes down to the napkin he’d been doodling on, tips of his ears going pink. Wanda spun back around to face the window, both arms wrapped around herself. Bucky could just make out the curve on cheek from behind her hair, and it was clear she was blushing too.

Idiots. If he and Darcy didn't help get the ball rolling on whatever it was between Steve and Wanda, they’d be stuck exchanging bashful glances for the foreseeable future. Both of them deserved more, and frankly, it was getting painful to watch.

“I’ve got some vacation coming up,” he remarked casually to Darcy. “I was thinking of going to Italy. Of course, it wouldn’t be much of a vacation if I went alone.”

“Is that my incentive?”

“It is if you take it, doll.”

Darcy sat up on the couch, eyes glinting wickedly as the smile widened on her face. “Bucky Barnes, you have yourself a partner in crime.”

**********A Few Days Later**********

Bucky was up to something. Steve could tell, but was trying not to pry too much. He knew his friend had a thing going on with Darcy, despite the fact that the two of them had managed to keep it under wraps for a couple of months now. It was fine with Steve if they wanted to keep it quiet. In truth, he was happy that Bucky seemed well enough to start up with a girl. The road back had been a rough one, and he never had fully returned to the guy Steve remembered from the Brooklyn days.

Since Bucky had been with Darcy there had been more and more glimpses of that guy, though, and this something Steve was infinitely grateful to her for. So when she asked him to help her and Wanda hang Valentine’s Day decorations up in the common areas of the Avengers Facility for a party they were planning, he agreed without a second thought.

Steve positively refused to consider his eagerness to help had anything to do with the fact that Wanda was involved. It was bad enough he felt like he was constantly tripping over himself whenever she was around. The last thing he needed was to make an ass of himself in front of her while trying to hang up decorations for a holiday that was all about romance. He looked over at the two girls. They were leaning close together, wings of long brunette hair falling forward to hide their faces as they discussed where to place a chain of paper hearts. 

“I’m thinking over the window,” Darcy said, gesturing at the wide bank of glass that faced out into the practice yard.

“I don’t believe it is long enough,” Wanda replied. “See here, this end is cut off short. I feel like they will look better over the door.”

Darcy chewed on her bottom lip for a minute, and then turned to Steve. “Hey, Cap. Do you think this will fit over the windows?”

She stepped back, letting the chain of hearts stretch out between herself and Wanda. Steve eyed both briefly, mentally measuring the spaces.

“Sorry Darce,” he said after a moment’s calculations. “I think Wanda’s right. You’re going to have about seven inches of window left undecorated.”

“Really? Yeah. That would be bad. Okay,” she conceded. “Here. Can you help her get them up over the door? I’m going to start putting the Cupids on the cabinets.” 

Darcy stuck the end of the paper chain in his hand, scooped up a handful of cherubs brandishing loaded bows, and walked off in the direction of the open plan kitchen. Steve was left standing a few feet from Wanda with a pink and red line of hearts swinging between them.

He could already feel his face getting hot. It didn’t help that she glanced up at him quickly, before looking away while tucking her hair behind her ears with her free hand. Steve found the nervous gesture so sweet that his fingers itched to reach out and brush the last errant strand behind her right ear, and he had to stop himself from doing just that.

“We should probably get started,” Wanda said. “With hanging the chain.”

“Right, right.” Steve cleared his throat. “Did you need a chair? To stand on, I mean.”

“What? Oh. No.” She shook her head, a shy smile blooming on her face. “I can just…” As the words to her sentence trailed off, Wanda opened her hand, and her end of the paper chain rose several inches up in the air. “See? No problem. You may need to tape it for me, though.”

“That’s a handy talent,” he said.

Her brow furrowed. “You’ve seen it before.”

“Not like this, I haven't.”

“Well, we don’t get much call for hanging paper hearts out in the field,” she teased.

Steve grinned. “I could always add it to our offensive strategy. At the very least it would be a diversion tactic.”

“Confusing the enemy, one tacky decoration at a time,” she agreed. “It is a singular approach to warfare.”

“What can I say, I’m a singular man. You might even say one of a kind.”

Steve could hear a soft noise behind him that might have been Darcy smothering a snort of amusement. He chose to ignore in favor of taping up his end of the paper chain. Wanda curved her fingers delicately, and her end floated up into place. Just as he was reaching to secure it, Bucky wandered into the room. His eyes scanned the entire space, zeroing in on Darcy in seconds.

“Hey, Hedy Lamarr, Jane’s looking for you,” he called over to her.

“Oh God. What’s on fire now?” Darcy asked, immediately dropping the cherubs and hopping off the counter.

“Nah, it’s nothing like that. She just can’t find some file or something. Come on, I’ll walk with you. I’ve got to go back that way anyway.” Bucky paused a moment, glancing around the room full of hearts and Cupids. “Looks good, but you need more streamers over by the foosball table.”

“Maybe you can help me with them later,” she replied. “That reminds me, do you have a date for the party yet?”

“Nope.” Bucky shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ve been hanging around waiting for this one dame to ask me, and she hasn’t yet.”

“Are you serious? Not to be rude, Buck, but this girl sounds like a loser,” Darcy said. “Want to go with me instead?”

Steve could see Wanda was listening to Bucky and Darcy’s conversation with as much interest as he was. Were they finally going public? It seemed so 

This speculation was borne out a moment later when Bucky said, “Yeah. I’d love to go with you, doll.”

Darcy beamed at him. “Cool. We’re officially people that party together.” Then she glanced up at Steve. “What about you, Cap? Got a date yet?”

Steve nearly choked. “I uh, no. Not yet.”

“Better hurry up,” she said. “All the good ones will be taken. I mean, Nat’s going with Clint. Sam is taking that cute new doctor down in medical, and I heard that one agent from Magic Ops was asking around about Wanda’s favorite kind of flowers.”

“What guy from Magic Ops?” Steve found himself asking before he could help it.

“Oh, you know...the one with the hair, and that flashy car with the vanity plates.” Darcy shrugged. “Don’t worry, Wanda. I didn’t tell him that they’re chamomiles.”

Steve didn’t know the guy Darcy was talking about, but he already didn’t like him. There was no way that guy was taking Wanda to this party or any other one. Not if he could help it.

“Actually, I was just thinking about asking someone,” he said. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Well, like I said. Don’t wait too long. I’ll be back as soon as I can, you two. You know how Jane is though. I might get caught up down there in the lab for a while.” Darcy gave them a breezy wave, and tugged Bucky through the door after her as she left.

He waited until they were out of earshot, before saying to Wanda, “What made you choose chamomiles, if you don’t mind me asking? I don’t think I’ve ever heard them named as a favorite flower before.”

Wanda met his eyes with a faraway smile. “Chamomiles are wildflower native to my country, I grew up picking them, and they thrive where other things won’t. They’re maybe not the most beautiful flower, but I have always loved how resilient they are.” She looked down at her hands a moment, and then back up at him. “I enjoy my life here with the Avengers, but...sometimes I miss home, and chamomiles? They are a part of home I can hold in my hand.”

Her explanation resonated deeply with Steve. Despite still being in the country of his birth, what felt like home to him had been lost over seventy years before, and there was no real going back.  
Maybe it was that feeling that lead to what he did next, or maybe it was just that he’d been in a holding pattern for so damn long that it felt like one more second was one more second too long. 

Regardless, Steve looked down at the wistful girl standing in front of him, took a deep breath, and said, “I don’t think you should go to that party with the guy from Magic Ops.”

Her eyes widened. “You don’t?”

“No. I think you should go with me.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. I do.” His eyes moved back and forth nervously between hers. Had he misstepped here? Should he backtrack? He should definitely backtrack. “That is...if you want. I don’t want to pressure you.”

“Yes.”

His heart went into a quickstep in his chest. Had she just agreed? 

“Yes you feel pressured, or yes you want to go with me?” 

She smiled, warmth lighting up her whole face. “Yes, I will go with you.”

“You will? That’s great! What time should I…” Steve’s phone chimed with an incoming text while he was speaking, and he frowned. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw it was from Bucky. 

_Get her an odd number of flowers, Rogers._ It read. _Even numbers are only given for funerals or goodbyes in her country._

Realization dawned on Steve before he’d even finished the first sentence of the text. He’d been had. For a few moments he warred mentally between kicking Bucky’s ass, and getting him a thank you gift.

“Is everything okay?” Wanda asked. She touched his wrist with a look of concern.

“Everything is fine,” he assured her, pocketing the phone. “In fact, everything is better than it has been in a long, long time. So...how does seven sound?”

“It sounds perfect.”

“Yes it does,” Steve said, smiling at her. “Yes it does.”

**********Three Months Later**********

“You’re kidding. He really made you ride the rollercoaster five times?” Wanda was lying half of on top of Steve, chin propped up on her folded arms so she could see his face.

He glanced down at her, and scratched his fingers through his hair with a rueful grin. “Six. And it would have been seven if I hadn’t lost my lunch all over his shoes. Twelve cents on a hot dog and a pop, completely wasted.”

“You poor thing,” she said, giggling. “Did he repay you the twelve cents?”

“Who? Bucky? Nah. He’d already spent all his money on some game trying to win a stuffed bear for this girl he met. It’s alright. He’d saved my ass enough times at that point, that I probably still owe him.”

She regarded him thoughtfully. “Is that what you think? That you still owe Bucky?”

Steve went silent thinking about her question. On the surface he knew there was no longer a question of making things even. They’d both saved each other more times than he could count, but deep down he was still that skinny kid from Brooklyn, and Bucky was still the friend who’d been there no matter what. 

“I think that’s how it is with family,” he finally answered. “You take care of each other. You have each other’s backs. Bucky’s been my family for a very long time.”

“And what about the Avengers?” she asked. “Are they family too?”

He nodded. “Of a kind.”

“The kind you want to strangle?”

“Most of the time,” Steve said, chuckling. He brought a hand up and traced the backs of his knuckles gently down the soft curve of her cheek. “Not all of them, though. There’s this one girl… I kind of want to do something completely different to her.”

“Oh yes?” Both her eyebrows raised teasingly. “Like what?”

Steve wrapped both arms around her, flipping them so he was on top. He began slowing kissing his way down her neck, moving lower, and lower until she was arching against the bed.

“Like this.”


End file.
